Appetite vital for next England boss says Beckham
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-01 09:20

"It's a hard decision and you've got to get it right, at this level, for our country.

"You see the euphoria even in games like this, a friendly, which is sold out... the hunger is immense."

The need for a manager with real drive is shared by England team mate and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.

GERRARD CONFIDENT

"I've got full confidence in the FA that they'll make the right decision," he told reporters. "I think we need a hungry manager who can take this team forward."

Eriksson spoke briefly to the squad when they met up on Monday and made it clear his appetite for World Cup success was unchanged.

"He went on for a couple of minutes about his stance with the FA and what will be happening after the World Cup, and he told all the players he is just as hungry as before he knew he was going," Gerrard said. "He wants to win the World Cup.

"I don't think I needed to hear it. I don't think the other players needed to hear it. We know the manager really well now, we have worked for him for a long time. We know he's desperate to win this World Cup."

Eriksson has no views on his successor and dismissed any notion he wanted to win the World Cup in order to prove the FA had made a bad decision in parting company with him.

"I'm not that kind of person," said the Swede, who has won trophies with Swedish, Portuguese and Italian clubs. "I don't have any revenge feelings in my body.

"Because after all these years, I hope I know who I am, what I can do and what I can't do. I know what I've won in different countries so I don't need these kind of feelings."

Eriksson's only hope is that his own future is already decided before his team head off to Germany in June.

"If I want to work in football after August 1, I have to sort that out before the World Cup," he said. "At the end of July, who takes on a new manager? No-one."